[It just takes a few good women! Some good news from a nation that provides little enough of it. Though I'm still trying to figure out how a staff of nothing but police officers provide medical examination and mental health services? *RON*]

While Pakistan might be a notorious region for female abuse, the country is taking steps towards better gender equality by opening up 36 different Violence Against Women Centers nationwide.

The first of the centers was opened in Multan of the Punjab region. The entirely female-run shelter offers first aid, forensics, medical examination, rehabilitation, post-trauma, counseling, and mental health services, as well as legal assistance.

The installation of the institutions is a part of the Punjab Protection of Women Against Violence (PPWAV) Act passed by Punjab Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif in 2016. The legislation is expected to take a dramatic stance a…

The approvals are a signal of strength for the banks, as the Fed no longer thinks holding more capital in reserve to help survive a potential crisis is necessary. Instead of reserving their money, the banks are able to share it with their shareholders.

Most of the big financial companies rose in after-market trading Wednesday after the results were announced. When markets opened for trading Thursday morning, the financials continued their upward march with most gaining a percent or more.

Barclays analysts said that the bank it covers are set to "return over $130b…

[An amazing, tremendously brave human being. But, to be honest, I had no idea she was still with us! *RON*]

Paul Taylor & Michel Rose, Reuters, 30 June 2017
French politician Simone Veil, who survived the Holocaust and led campaigns for the legalization of abortion in France in the 1970s, died at her home in Paris on Friday, her family said. She was 89 years old.

A Jewish survivor of the Nazi death camps at Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen with the prisoner number 78651 tattooed on her arm, she was a fervent European and fighter for civil liberties, becoming the first elected president of the European Parliament in 1979.

Although out of the national limelight since 2007 when she quit her seat at France's top constitutional court, she commanded wide respect across the political spectrum and remained among the most popular politicians in opinion polls.

Tributes honoring her courage and determination to advance women's rights were paid …

[Canada's birthday present to the world is its old foreign policy wrapped in new fancy rhetoric. *RON*]

Andrew Mitrovica, Al Jazeera, 1 July 2017
Often, birthdays are a moment to take stock of the past and reflect on the future.

On July 1, Canada marks its sesquicentennial. It's a date infused with myth and symbolism. On the eve of the anniversary, Canada's perpetually effervescent foreign minister, Chrystia Freeland, made a much-anticipated speech that heeded the nation's past to help navigate its future during these turbulent times.

Freeland, a former editor and columnist for a variety of establishment publications in Canada, the United States and Britain, has exploited her deep journalistic roots to cultivate ties with her ex-colleagues who routinely gush over her credentials and intellect (Disclosure: Freeland was a senior editor at The Globe and Mail while I was an investigative reporter there many years ago).

Calum MacLeod, The Times, 1 July 2017
President Xi Jinping warned that Beijing would not tolerate any challenge upon its authority in Hong Kong as he swore the city’s new leader this morning morning.

Speaking as a wave of pro-democracy activists prepared to march through the streets, he said: “Any attempt to endanger China’s sovereignty and security, challenge the power of the central government or use Hong Kong to carry out infiltration and sabotage activities against the mainland is an act that crosses the red line and is absolutely impermissible.”

China last night ripped up a 50-year treaty signed by Britain to protect the rights of Hong Kong — on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the handover of the territory.
The Chinese foreign ministry said that the Basic Law, an agreement signed by Margaret Thatcher and Zhao Ziyang in 1984 to guarantee Hong Kong’s rights and freedoms, was a historical d…